Archive for the ‘Views’ Category

Perhaps with the exception of how many glasses of wine I consume daily, I am no expert in the statistics of any matter, let alone those of how many women are accepted to train as conductors in music academies, or go on to have opportunities to assist conductors, or have enough concerts to grow and develop their talent with the vital experience these concerts engender, or even how many actually go on to hold a position of music director somewhere. Even a somewhat cursory look at this sub group in our musical community, however, may lead concert goers to all agree the relative number of female conductors in proportion to men is less than half. Way less.
You can read the rest of the article on the Huffington Post website.

The Conductor, hero - worshipped and hated possibly in equal measure, seen as a saint by some and an absolute sinner by others. Over the last two centuries the rise of the conductor and their power over our imaginations has been a dramatic journey encompassing towering musical figures from Mendelssohn to Wagner and Mahler and later conductors such as Furtwangler, Bernstein, Karajan and Carlos Kleiber.
You can read the rest of the article on the Huffington Post website.

Attending the Academy as one of twelve students was an uplifting and thought-provoking experience.
Twelve students, one teacher and six days were the fundamental ingredients of the musical feast that was the Järvi Winter Academy 2013. The setting was Pärnu, a charming and beautiful Estonian resort town gracefully edged by the Baltic sea; a place where in Soviet times the great and the good – most notably David Oistrakh - would come and relax and breathe the lovely, balmy sea air. The air was still lovely when the 12 of us were visiting and learning, but with temperatures reaching 25 degrees below Celsius the climate was a little less forgiving. The same cannot be said of the Pärnu City Orchestra who were amiability itself, forgiving the one or two slips that may have occurred as we conductors attempted to face the challenge - what does it mean to conduct?.
You can read the rest of the article on Gramophone’s website.

Rachael Young on how conductors, regardless of gender, have the capacity to embody both female and male aspects of the self.
My path to conducting had rather curious beginnings that are perhaps not so obvious. My grandmother’s love of dance meant both my sister and I began learning ballet at the age of five. She had won prizes for her dancing and was very keen for us to carry on her legacy. It was no hardship for me as I loved every minute.… read more »

Dancing to Tchaikovsky as a child led to a conducting career in the Russian school - Rachael Young, 8th November 2012
Conductor Rachael Young will lead The Russian Virtuosi of Europe in a performance at London's Cadogan Hall on November 23, 2012. Here she explains how early ballet inspirations led to a lifelong fascination with Russian composers and the Russian school of performing.
Each of us who love music has their own story of how this… read more »